Bonds Credo: I Believe

Adapted by acclaimed pianist Lara Downes from the original work “Especially Do I Believe in the Negro Race” by Margaret Bonds. This is the lyrical second movement from Bonds’ larger work, “Credo” on text by WEB DuBois. The intense beauty of the music reflects racial-justice warrior Margaret Bonds’ deep affinity to the spirit of Du Bois’s words. The movement is in the style of a gospel song. The text of the original work is “Especially do I believe in the Negro Race; in the beauty of its genius, the sweetness of its soul, and its strength in that meekness which shall yet inherit this turbulent earth.”